Bangkok overrun by huge protest

[northernjohn]

It becomes more and more a Thai soap opera, with bad actors. On one side a PM remote controlled but legally appointed and on the other side a corrupt politician with personnel hate towards TS claiming that he speaks for the Thai population. If this would be the case why not facing the election and than with a democrat lead government all the changes could be implemented. He can't agree to that because he knows he would loose the election. Now he wants to block the election and ensure that nobody goes for voting taking away the basic right of each Thai to express their will. What is wrong with the people that they don't understand that on the end it could only mean a total split of the Thai society, ideas of unelected government different voting rights for different classes of Thai people is far from Democracy.

I have no problem with him having a personal hate for Thaksin Shinawatra look what the man has done to the country. With out him and him alone 2010 would have never happened.

Yes he claims that he speaks for the population. Unfortunately I have to agree with you it is just a claim. The majority of the population is uneducated and he does not speak for them. He speaks for the part of the population that is educated and knows what Thaksin has and is doing to the country plus the ones Thaksin ignores and in fact started an event which has turned into a terrorist event with close to 6,000 dead. Actually he did not start it he just super charged it.

Why should he run in an election that is fixed. Notice Yingluck wants to reform all kind's of things after she is elected and the voting procedure was not on her list.

Why all of a sudden her interest in reforming things. Sher was happy with the way things were until the people told her they were not happy with them. Is she afraid that if they reform the election laws before the election she might not win and get all those all expenses paid shopping trips around the world.

That was before Suthep came on the scene. They were in different groups protesting and only united when Suthep quit his cushy job and joined them. Yes he had a cushy job. As a democrat MP he had no power and the PTP was not interested in any things he had to say. Now they have decided maybe they should have listened to him. Gee I wonder why?

[spirit47]

It becomes more and more a Thai soap opera, with bad actors. On one side a PM remote controlled but legally appointed and on the other side a corrupt politician with personnel hate towards TS claiming that he speaks for the Thai population. If this would be the case why not facing the election and than with a democrat lead government all the changes could be implemented. He can't agree to that because he knows he would loose the election. Now he wants to block the election and ensure that nobody goes for voting taking away the basic right of each Thai to express their will. What is wrong with the people that they don't understand that on the end it could only mean a total split of the Thai society, ideas of unelected government different voting rights for different classes of Thai people is far from Democracy.

What's wrong with people who don't understand that a country that allows vote buying, position buying and buying "justice" is not a democracy?

Infiltrating social media is a useful way to manipulate people. Starting with product rating websites it is now everywhere to find. You can buy "Likes" in Facebook and now we have here a massive upcoming of PTP Supporters. You see some new members, posting every time nearly the same, and this 10 times a day. They working together, so thats their post gets popular. It's possible, that it is automated, for product rating websites like Hotels, it working already. So, the only thing what is wrong with them, they paid for manipulate others in a social Network. And most people are easy to manipulate, because they follow their herd mentality and with this massive postings they should think, its a majority.

But we know that this is not real, not in this forum, and not in Thailand...

[animatic]

"....However, she could not escape the whistle blowing, a symbolic gesture by opponents keen to oust her and her brother, the former PM Thaksin, from politics. She has faced them in almost every province in the current trip, from Surin, Yasothon, Buri Ram, and Nong Khai yesterday...."

Interesting that even in Issan they are not organised to run off or beat down the small knots of protestors. As always was happening in the past.

Is the SIStuation that dire for Team Thaksin at the moment?

Edited December 23, 2013 by animatic

[HUAHIN62]

The number is irrelevant because if it continues 70 million will be fighting each other with everyone being losers. Are the groups on both sides prepared to die for what they believe in ? Continue with unrealistic demands and rejection of negotiations with the government and we will see another Rwanda. I am not saying this lightly as I have lived through a civil war. It seems as if the protesters are to uneducated to foresee the results of their actions. This includes so called educated foreigners on TV, who will be the first ones to run with their tail between their legs back "home".

[SouthernMan3]

I see civil war as a very imminent possibility.

The People WILL NOT back down.

Ms. Y can prevent this war by stepping down.

Now, one has to ask one's self.

Who does she care about more ?

The Thai people ?

Or herself ?

Pretty simple if you ask me..........

[oldsailor35]

""Whoever wants to go inside to register will have to pass through us," he said.

"If we do not hold the country by February 2, we will shut the country down. No one will go to vote," he added."

Did Suthep really say this? I know the APP seems to take a pro govt line in most of its stories, but they don't make stuff up. Suthep's authoritarian, PT like attitude of "my way is the only way" is getting worse. Man's barking mad and gorged on power, dangerous combination. He will be no better than PT and their red stormtroopers if he carries out these threats.

He already is no better. Barking mad is a very good description. He is promoting an ill thought out revolution. He has no white paper on his own subject, but making it all up as he goes along. If people follow this insanity, they will get nothing from it.

The Army will have to step in eventually and return the country to elections according to the constitution.

Thai people will one day have to realise there are no easy answers. Democracy comes one step at a time.

Dare I say what Thailand needs is what all governments need all over the world. Transparency. That's something that is hard won and usually only won, one case at a time. The rooting out of individual cases of corruption. One by one. Tricky and time consuming, but it has to be done, by those that are committed.

There are cases of massive corruption in Australia at present, involving government department heads and so forth. You can't hold the whole government to account, but make it harder and harder for individuals to get away with what they do.

The greatest benefit from this is to put the Shinawatra clan on "notice".

Mmmmm! Massive corruption ? i thought that the Australian Labour Party were sacked recently

Both major parties being accused of corruption at present.

I think you failed to detect my note of sarcasm ! However being accused is one thing, but being guilty is another and after over 10 years of being in power, there are many cases of corruption with the former government especially in the state governments.

[oldsailor35]

BANGKOK: -- THE NUMBER of passengers using the BTS Skytrain yesterday was so great that operators at BTS stations such as Mo Chit, Siam, Asok, Sala Daeng, Chidlom had to open the gates and allow travellers to pass through without buying a ticket.

That would of killed them worse than any bomb. Public safety comes a distant last to the baht, never forget that in Thailand.

They would of been going mental, thinking of all those lost fares.

No fares were lost. Passengers paid at their destination......TiT

[Mr Yim]

I just took my boys for lunch and a truck full of Red Shirts, with flags flying and a loud speaker blaring something out, pulled into the service station. Like I have said on more than one occasion, if Suthep and all his blind supporters think they can simply remove PTP without a massive counter action, then they are not the smart thinkers that one or two on here think they are.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Mr Yim

[animatic]

It becomes more and more a Thai soap opera, with bad actors. On one side a PM remote controlled but legally appointed and on the other side a corrupt politician with personnel hate towards TS claiming that he speaks for the Thai population. If this would be the case why not facing the election and than with a democrat lead government all the changes could be implemented. He can't agree to that because he knows he would loose the election. Now he wants to block the election and ensure that nobody goes for voting taking away the basic right of each Thai to express their will. What is wrong with the people that they don't understand that on the end it could only mean a total split of the Thai society, ideas of unelected government different voting rights for different classes of Thai people is far from Democracy.

What's wrong with people who don't understand that a country that allows vote buying, position buying and buying "justice" is not a democracy?

Infiltrating social media is a useful way to manipulate people. Starting with product rating websites it is now everywhere to find. You can buy "Likes" in Facebook and now we have here a massive upcoming of PTP Supporters. You see some new members, posting every time nearly the same, and this 10 times a day. They working together, so thats their post gets popular. It's possible, that it is automated, for product rating websites like Hotels, it working already. So, the only thing what is wrong with them, they paid for manipulate others in a social Network. And most people are easy to manipulate, because they follow their herd mentality and with this massive postings they should think, its a majority.

But we know that this is not real, not in this forum, and not in Thailand...

It is called Perception Management a branch of Public Relations biz., but much more sinister.

Been happening on TVF when Team Thaksin has been doing a big move for about 6-7 years now.

Likely longer.

[oldsailor35]

""Whoever wants to go inside to register will have to pass through us," he said.

"If we do not hold the country by February 2, we will shut the country down. No one will go to vote," he added."

Did Suthep really say this? I know the APP seems to take a pro govt line in most of its stories, but they don't make stuff up. Suthep's authoritarian, PT like attitude of "my way is the only way" is getting worse. Man's barking mad and gorged on power, dangerous combination. He will be no better than PT and their red stormtroopers if he carries out these threats.

Suthep is acting very foolishly. The problem is that as everybody knows, Thailand's future hinges on the reaching, or just approaching, a nexus-point of consensus between rich/poor urban/rural. Problem number two, this is the bigger problem, and the one which Suthep's mad scheme totally does not factor in, is that the rural majority want democratic votes, they are the majority and also the serf class and so they feel that having their votes respected is very important. Suthep overturning the elected Govt and essentially spitting on all those casted votes, is going to cause immensely bad feelings around the nation.

On a practical level, yes Yingluck is no good, yes Thaksin should face additional massmurder charges for the 2500 deaths he ordered, and his nepotistic plundering of the State Fund, there is no dispute from me. But what was good is that PTP were voted for, got into power, and so their supporters put down the pitchforks and said "ok we've got our electoral rights now" etc. And they then started gradually criticising their own PTP members for failing, which is totally natural healthy democracy, and heading in the right direction. Suthep derailed that slow but natural process. The rural / poor thinking that it was great they had got Government's ear, but they didn't like their leadership, for failing to improve infrastructure etc. So they would put more internal pressure on PTP to act like a political party not just insurgents. This is very slow process. Meantime, Dems were gaining popularity also from the PTP failing.

The problems can all be solved without any of the Suthep stuff.

Re; Yingluck abuse of the policy-making machinery, can all be solved by Parliamentary reform, Parliament as a concept is a fluid system which invites augmentation to "get around" nation-specific difficulties, overhauling the mechanisms relating to the power balance of the various parties, their floor-time, and also the policy queueing system of which needs to be regulated by an external body. Thaksin passport issue should never reach the debate floor, especially during flood crisis as it did, that is just ridiculous. This can be solved by strictly regulating policy-submission and queueing. Those reforms take a long time, it also takes a long time for radical new parties such as PTP to settle into more progressive models. Especially as they began as a hero-worship cult. But you have to work with the materials you've got.

However, to scrap the whole process above, and just say "your votes don't matter" (paraphrasing Suthep's conceptual Assembly idea) is inviting disaster. I hope to be proved wrong on all this.

edit: mister coffee & typos

Not a bad post but you neglect the fact that a vote is viewed as a commodity to be traded and sold to the highest bidder in the north! democracy does not come into it.

As Dr Geobbles once said "Repeat a lie often enough, it will be believed" Guess you have been brainwashed !

[animatic]

I just took my boys for lunch and a truck full of Red Shirts, with flags flying and a loud speaker blaring something out, pulled into the service station. Like I have said on more than one occasion, if Suthep and all his blind supporters think they can simply remove PTP without a massive counter action, then they are not the smart thinkers that one or two on here think they are.

I would say without a doubt they know exactly what is facing them.

But they are doing it anyway.

[metisdead]

A post with messed up quotes has been removed. Another post discussing HM the King has been removed:

2) Not to express disrespect of the King of Thailand or anyone else in the Thai royal family, whether living or deceased, nor to criticize the monarchy as an institution. Speculation, comments and discussion of either a political or personal nature are not allowed when discussing HM The King or the Royal family. Discussion of the lese majeste law or lese majeste cases is permitted on the forum, providing no comment or speculation is made referencing the royal family. To breach this rule will result in immediate ban.

[Spare]

BANGKOK: -- THE NUMBER of passengers using the BTS Skytrain yesterday was so great that operators at BTS stations such as Mo Chit, Siam, Asok, Sala Daeng, Chidlom had to open the gates and allow travellers to pass through without buying a ticket.

That would of killed them worse than any bomb. Public safety comes a distant last to the baht, never forget that in Thailand.

They would of been going mental, thinking of all those lost fares.

If there is no control, the mass could accidentally push some people off the platform onto the rails.

Just imagine.

[Mr Yim]

I just took my boys for lunch and a truck full of Red Shirts, with flags flying and a loud speaker blaring something out, pulled into the service station. Like I have said on more than one occasion, if Suthep and all his blind supporters think they can simply remove PTP without a massive counter action, then they are not the smart thinkers that one or two on here think they are.

I would say without a doubt they know exactly what is facing them.

But they are doing it anyway.

The sad thing is, if they do remove the PTP, and it will only by the intervention of the army, then Suthep and those protesting now will be nowhere to be seen when the Red Shirts hit Bangkok. It will be left to the soldiers to attempt to hold the order against what will be masses of very angry Red Shirts.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Mr Yim

[kirk0233]

 

Suthep is only the mouthpiece for the slow launch of a miliatry coup. The military with the help of influential others is using Suthep to create an emergency that requires a military intervention to reinstall the loyal subjects, the democrats, as the leading party and at the same time make changes they and the other one in charge favor in the constitution. The democracy of one person one vote is too much of a threat to the traditional institutions in Thailand. A political crisis has to occur in order for the military intervention to appear legitimate locally and internationally. The ongoing use of lese majeste to silence critics is a wonderous thing since the charges can never be revealed. A brilliant way to maintain military control of the country and silence critics while the lapdog democrats provide a democratic cover for the true powers behind the scene.

This is the most insightful comment I've seen on this board in recent days.

Democracy will never work in Thailand as long as there is this alternative power base that sees itself as the true authority. The covert political manipulation that has been going on for decades is frankly staggering.

Frightening too how easily a mass of educated people have been brainwashed by the 'fighting corruption' mantra, as if corruption is something that can be eradicated overnight by decree. Corruption can only be combated by paying adequate salaries to everyone. The money for those salaries can only come from higher taxation. And the money for that taxation can only come from years of economic growth. And I would assume that this kind of economic growth would benefit most from a long-term levelling out of society. In short, it will take decades.

In the meantime, progressive democracy is the best bet. It doesn't matter if a government is good or bad - all governments screw up, even the best of them - the important thing is that it can be voted out if the screw-up is big enough. A non-democratic fascist system of the type being openly promulgated now in front of the Democracy Monument is not only a recipe for corruption on a mega-scale, but will be impossible to remove for a long time. If Suthep gets his way, Thailand is setting itself up for several decades of Suharto-like dictatorship.

Yes, if Suthep's boss is successful, Thailand is headed for an all too familiar dictatorship. It has regularly happened in the past when the peasants dont seem to know their place within a sufficiency economy. Thailand is at a critical political juncture, where the forces that congregate around old ideas associated with hierarchy, social closure and inequality, Thai-style democracy and privilege are arrayed against forces that champion equality, access, voting and populism. Those vested interests with much to lose if democracy is successful, such as the military, don't wish to go quietly and promote their rule as the only source of order and fairness. Ironically, the military is one of the most corrupt institutions in Thailand. The progressive effects of democracy which erode corruption are alleged to be inept by the established elite who wish to promote panic and crisis among the populace ending in a reactionary form of government. The flaws of government and lack of patience with the slow progress of democracy are an excuse to demand the illusory fairness the established elite institutions advocate they possess. Thakisn's success with the poor has long been a threat to the power of the elite established institutions. The fact that the peasants can vote is evidently very disturbing to those with the most to lose if democracy continues. What we are witnessing is an attempt to put the peasants in their place and maintain the privilege of the few.

[bigbamboo]

Suthep is only the mouthpiece for the slow launch of a miliatry coup. The military with the help of influential others is using Suthep to create an emergency that requires a military intervention to reinstall the loyal subjects, the democrats, as the leading party and at the same time make changes they and the other one in charge favor in the constitution. The democracy of one person one vote is too much of a threat to the traditional institutions in Thailand. A political crisis has to occur in order for the military intervention to appear legitimate locally and internationally. The ongoing use of lese majeste to silence critics is a wonderous thing since the charges can never be revealed. A brilliant way to maintain military control of the country and silence critics while the lapdog democrats provide a democratic cover for the true powers behind the scene.

This is the most insightful comment I've seen on this board in recent days.

Democracy will never work in Thailand as long as there is this alternative power base that sees itself as the true authority. The covert political manipulation that has been going on for decades is frankly staggering.

Frightening too how easily a mass of educated people have been brainwashed by the 'fighting corruption' mantra, as if corruption is something that can be eradicated overnight by decree. Corruption can only be combated by paying adequate salaries to everyone. The money for those salaries can only come from higher taxation. And the money for that taxation can only come from years of economic growth. And I would assume that this kind of economic growth would benefit most from a long-term levelling out of society. In short, it will take decades.

In the meantime, progressive democracy is the best bet. It doesn't matter if a government is good or bad - all governments screw up, even the best of them - the important thing is that it can be voted out if the screw-up is big enough. A non-democratic fascist system of the type being openly promulgated now in front of the Democracy Monument is not only a recipe for corruption on a mega-scale, but will be impossible to remove for a long time. If Suthep gets his way, Thailand is setting itself up for several decades of Suharto-like dictatorship.

Millions of Zimbabweans might disagree with you.

No one wants a Suharto ruling the country but then who wants a Hun Sen either?

[Bluespunk]

@oldsailor35

No, I got the sarcasm. Just saying both sides are as bad as each other. All sounds so familiar, don't you think?

Edited December 23, 2013 by Bluespunk

[tyrtok]

Hello,

I will be travelling to Bangkok just after Christmas. Can I check with you guys who are locals, is it safe to travel say during weekdays or will the level escalate?

Thank you for your replies.

Traveller from Singapore.

[animatic]

I just took my boys for lunch and a truck full of Red Shirts, with flags flying and a loud speaker blaring something out, pulled into the service station. Like I have said on more than one occasion, if Suthep and all his blind supporters think they can simply remove PTP without a massive counter action, then they are not the smart thinkers that one or two on here think they are.

I would say without a doubt they know exactly what is facing them.

But they are doing it anyway.

The sad thing is, if they do remove the PTP, and it will only by the intervention of the army, then Suthep and those protesting now will be nowhere to be seen when the Red Shirts hit Bangkok. It will be left to the soldiers to attempt to hold the order against what will be masses of very angry Red Shirts.

Think back to 2006 that was hardly the case. This same crowd tried it once before

and I don't mean the leadership, but the followers and it didn't work, they seem determined to try again.

[spirit47]

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it" ( Joseph Goebbels)

Three men make a tiger ( Chinese proverb)

Now we know, where you got your wisdom from...You seems to be an expert of advertisement, with a lot of time to share your wisdom. And you sounds like a cracked Vinyl record, repeating like a parrot...Now you can lift your throusers, I dont like what I see...

[SPIKECM]

I agree except that Thailand cannot now be a dictatorship. For the same reasons as the Arab Spring. The internet is too powerful. All the Reds need to do is simply organize blocking off Bangkok's elevated highways with taxis. Block the rail lines. The possibilities are endless. If the Thais are denied the ballot box, they will increasingly turn to such tactics.

 

Suthep is only the mouthpiece for the slow launch of a miliatry coup. The military with the help of influential others is using Suthep to create an emergency that requires a military intervention to reinstall the loyal subjects, the democrats, as the leading party and at the same time make changes they and the other one in charge favor in the constitution. The democracy of one person one vote is too much of a threat to the traditional institutions in Thailand. A political crisis has to occur in order for the military intervention to appear legitimate locally and internationally. The ongoing use of lese majeste to silence critics is a wonderous thing since the charges can never be revealed. A brilliant way to maintain military control of the country and silence critics while the lapdog democrats provide a democratic cover for the true powers behind the scene.

This is the most insightful comment I've seen on this board in recent days.
Democracy will never work in Thailand as long as there is this alternative power base that sees itself as the true authority. The covert political manipulation that has been going on for decades is frankly staggering.

Frightening too how easily a mass of educated people have been brainwashed by the 'fighting corruption' mantra, as if corruption is something that can be eradicated overnight by decree. Corruption can only be combated by paying adequate salaries to everyone. The money for those salaries can only come from higher taxation. And the money for that taxation can only come from years of economic growth. And I would assume that this kind of economic growth would benefit most from a long-term levelling out of society. In short, it will take decades.

In the meantime, progressive democracy is the best bet. It doesn't matter if a government is good or bad - all governments screw up, even the best of them - the important thing is that it can be voted out if the screw-up is big enough. A non-democratic fascist system of the type being openly promulgated now in front of the Democracy Monument is not only a recipe for corruption on a mega-scale, but will be impossible to remove for a long time. If Suthep gets his way, Thailand is setting itself up for several decades of Suharto-like dictatorship.

Yes, if Suthep's boss is successful, Thailand is headed for an all too familiar dictatorship. It has regularly happened in the past when the peasants dont seem to know their place within a sufficiency economy. Thailand is at a critical political juncture, where the forces that congregate around old ideas associated with hierarchy, social closure and inequality, Thai-style democracy and privilege are arrayed against forces that champion equality, access, voting and populism. Those vested interests with much to lose if democracy is successful, such as the military, don't wish to go quietly and promote their rule as the only source of order and fairness. Ironically, the military is one of the most corrupt institutions in Thailand. The progressive effects of democracy which erode corruption are alleged to be inept by the established elite who wish to promote panic and crisis among the populace ending in a reactionary form of government. The flaws of government and lack of patience with the slow progress of democracy are an excuse to demand the illusory fairness the established elite institutions advocate they possess. Thakisn's success with the poor has long been a threat to the power of the elite established institutions. The fact that the peasants can vote is evidently very disturbing to those with the most to lose if democracy continues. What we are witnessing is an attempt to put the peasants in their place and maintain the privilege of the few.

[Spare]

Hello, I will be travelling to Bangkok just after Christmas. Can I check with you guys who are locals, is it safe to travel say during weekdays or will the level escalate? Thank you for your replies. Traveller from Singapore.

Just avoid the protest sites during marching days.

You will be fine.

Go to the airport early

[SPIKECM]

Some apt quotes from the Great Man of Singapore. Perhaps they can be seen colour coded for Thailand's problems now. Contradictory, but one when he was out of power and the other when he had it. Interestingly though, Thaksin some years ago, whilst in power, seemed to agree with the 1994 quote.

“But we either believe in democracy or we not. If we do, then, we must say categorically, without qualification, that no restraint from the any democratic processes, other than by the ordinary law of the land, should be allowed… If you believe in democracy, you must believe in it unconditionally. If you believe that men should be free, then, they should have the right of free association, of free speech, of free publication. Then, no law should permit those democratic processes to be set at nought.”
- Lee Kuan Yew as an opposition leader, April 27, 1955

“I’m not intellectually convinced that one-man-one-vote is the best. We practise it because that’s what the British bequeathed us.”
- Lee Kuan Yew, 1994

Edited December 23, 2013 by SPIKECM

[bigbamboo]

Hello, I will be travelling to Bangkok just after Christmas. Can I check with you guys who are locals, is it safe to travel say during weekdays or will the level escalate? Thank you for your replies. Traveller from Singapore.

If you avoid the roads and the railways you'll be fine.

[SPIKECM]

You might also have to avoid the airport too!

Hello, I will be travelling to Bangkok just after Christmas. Can I check with you guys who are locals, is it safe to travel say during weekdays or will the level escalate? Thank you for your replies. Traveller from Singapore.

If you avoid the roads and the railways you'll be fine.

[HerIndoors]

My missus is red to the core as are most Issan folk. Not because they are stupid, ill educated and unthinking morons ...no...because they despise everything that the Bangkok wealthy and Amart stand for. I think it was in the late 50's that the Issan dialect was banned from schools... so English is actually their 3rd language. The wealthy in Bangkok send their children to international schools whilst ALL previous governments have purposely put in place practices which disenfranchise the rural poor from a good education. Keep them in their place where they belong ! ... a case in point is the convoluted written languge..poor old Somchai working in the paddy from dawn to dusk has little time left after mastering Thai to explore any other educational routes. The Thai culture of patronage, feudalism, face and respecting a Poo Yai (irrespective of how they got their wealth... I'm thinking Suthep here)... all comes together to explain why the rural poor will take a chance on the Thaksin regime.... He can walk with the people... Abhisit? I think not. So to all you posters who say that Thaksin just 'bought' the votes .. you are being stupid beyond belief. If someone is going to give them 200 B ... they will take it...even from the Democrats...THEN .. go and vote for who they want anyway. The real problem is that the Democrats have consistently shown to be incapable as a strong opposition, as a consequence we have the so called 'democratic dictatorship', this, together with a piss weak judicial system with no real checks and balances and we have what is modern Thailand.

[MJP]

My missus is red to the core as are most Issan folk. Not because they are stupid, ill educated and unthinking morons ...no...because they despise everything that the Bangkok wealthy and Amart stand for. I think it was in the late 50's that the Issan dialect was banned from schools... so English is actually their 3rd language. The wealthy in Bangkok send their children to international schools whilst ALL previous governments have purposely put in place practices which disenfranchise the rural poor from a good education. Keep them in their place where they belong ! ... a case in point is the convoluted written languge..poor old Somchai working in the paddy from dawn to dusk has little time left after mastering Thai to explore any other educational routes. The Thai culture of patronage, feudalism, face and respecting a Poo Yai (irrespective of how they got their wealth... I'm thinking Suthep here)... all comes together to explain why the rural poor will take a chance on the Thaksin regime.... He can walk with the people... Abhisit? I think not. So to all you posters who say that Thaksin just 'bought' the votes .. you are being stupid beyond belief. If someone is going to give them 200 B ... they will take it...even from the Democrats...THEN .. go and vote for who they want anyway. The real problem is that the Democrats have consistently shown to be incapable as a strong opposition, as a consequence we have the so called 'democratic dictatorship', this, together with a piss weak judicial system with no real checks and balances and we have what is modern Thailand.

Good post, but what happens when the farmers don't get paid for their rice? Who do they turn to then?

[tyrtok]

You might also have to avoid the airport too!

Hello, I will be travelling to Bangkok just after Christmas. Can I check with you guys who are locals, is it safe to travel say during weekdays or will the level escalate? Thank you for your replies. Traveller from Singapore.

If you avoid the roads and the railways you'll be fine.

i have to fly there my friend. I will be landing on DMK airport around 29th noon.

[Spare]

You might also have to avoid the airport too!

Hello, I will be travelling to Bangkok just after Christmas. Can I check with you guys who are locals, is it safe to travel say during weekdays or will the level escalate? Thank you for your replies. Traveller from Singapore.

If you avoid the roads and the railways you'll be fine.

i have to fly there my friend. I will be landing on DMK airport around 29th noon.

That should be OK, unless the EC decide to use DMK as a place to register candidate.

[whybother]

Hello, I will be travelling to Bangkok just after Christmas. Can I check with you guys who are locals, is it safe to travel say during weekdays or will the level escalate? Thank you for your replies. Traveller from Singapore.

It is safe to travel, but depending on where you are travelling, there may be delays.